Dates are Easy, Love is Difficult
by ArisuAmiChan
Summary: Tatsuki knew she crushed on Renji, but hated the fact that she even did. She just wanted nothing to do with him! Renji really did like Tatsuki, he just didn't know how to tell that he did. So acting out was his way of saying just that. #Bleach-Pairings Contest prize for Katsuomangaka on dA, Rated T for language.


"Go to the mall with me."

"Like hell I will." But in the end, she just couldn't refuse him. He was like a lost puppy, always coming back to her.

"You'll give in anyway. Just make it easier on the both of us and say yes already, man." And that was when she gave him a nice round house kick to the side for all his troubles.

"I'm a chick! I have tits, asshat!"

Renji gasped for breath, chuckling a little. "Ichigo calls Uryū an asshat. I never thought you would start using that kind of language."

"Yeah, well. I ain't exactly a prim and proper lady, now am I?" Tatsuki muttered, a faint pink tinting her cheeks. Renji always made her blush for some reason. She knew why, too.

But it would be a cold, frozen day in hell when she admitted she actually liked him.

What she didn't know was that the same applied to Renji as well. He had told Rukia and she just squealed in joy at finding the information out. Then she smacked him upside the head for not telling her sooner.

"So, you wanna come to the mall with me or what? I'll buy you that ice cream you like so much…" Shit. The bribes are out on the table now. He _knew_she adored that Chocolate Devotion they sold at Cold Stone. Crap, she couldn't say no now. Not with that chocolate heart attack waiting for her…

"Alright, fine. I'll go with you, okay?" she muttered, knowing that Renji was right about her giving in.

"Sweet! Come on, if you want, we can go to the arcade while we're out."

Tatsuki flashed him a flirty smile. "I'd like that. I'll make sure to kick your ass in Mortal Kombat!"

"Puh-lease! Like you can beat me! I've been training with Ichigo to kick your ass in that game! Just you wait and see!"

Tatsuki snorted. "Yeah fucking right. You couldn't even fight your way out of a paper bag, let alone beat me in Mortal Kombat."

Renji glared down at her and opened his mouth, about to tell her about how much Hollow ass he kicked before, but remembered that Ichigo said she wasn't as a tune to the spirit world as he was. "So what? I'll beat you in pinball, like last time!"

_'Nice cover up, Idiot.'_he thought to himself.

"Last time? Last time?! You didn't even score enough points to make it into the top ten!"

_'Ouch. Low blow, Tatsuki...'_she thought.

"That was a low blow, man..." Renji said. "It wounds me! I've been stabbed!" He clutched the spot over his heart in an over dramatic manner, before falling to the ground.

It was then that they heard chuckling from the next house over. It was one of Tatsuki's neighbors. "Ahh... Young love. I remember doing just that to win the heart of my wife also, young man."

Renji's eyes went wide and he jumped up from the ground, suddenly nervous. "N-no! It-it's not like that!"

The old man just shrugged. "'It's not like that.' or 'It's not what you think.' Either way, you're here to take her out for some fun."

Tatsuki, having lived near the man almost her whole life just turned beet red. "Thank you, Mr. Maruyama! Have a nice day and tell Mrs. Maruyama I said 'Hi!'" Mr. Maruyama chuckled and nodded.

"Of course. Have fun, you two!" And with that, he went back inside.

Renji was already brushing dirt off his pants by the time Tatsuki stepped out of her house with her shoes on. "Well, you sure do got some weird neighbors."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes and shoved Renji in the shoulder. "So you say. You got weird friends, if I remember right."

Renji just nodded in agreement. "Yeah. But at least they know how to mind their own business."

Tatsuki smiled at him. "Yeah. You're lucky Ichigo isn't around right now or else he'd flip out on you for dragging me outta the house and away from the dōjō."

"Oh no! I'm so scared of the big bad Ichigo! Someone hold me as a shiver in fear!" That had Tatsuki giggling madly. "But no. If Ichigo's got any problem with us, then he can kiss my shiny metal butt."

"You've been watching those crappy American cartoons again, haven't you?"  
Renji gave her a thousand watt smile. "Maybe I have. Maybe I haven't. Who's to say?"

Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "Uryū. And that Hat 'n Clogs freak you stay with."

"Okay. So they know about it, but Urahara-san likes those 'crappy American' cartoons as well."

Tatsuki arched an eyebrow. "Really now?"

Renji nodded. "Yep. He loves those shows for some reason." It was then he yelped as Tatsuki pinched his rear. "Hey!"

Tatsuki grinned. "Nope. It ain't metal nor shiny, so I'm sure Ichigo won't want to kiss  
it!"

"Get back here!"

"No way! You're gonna try the same to me!" Tatsuki had started to jog ahead of him, trying to avoid Renji.

"No, I'm not! Get back here!" Crap, he was starting to chase after her. Tatsuki kicked up the pace, out right running away from him just to hide in the arcade a few streets away.

She dodged tons of people, sometimes running into to some of her classmates and apologizing quickly. She turned the final corner to the arcade, only to ram into a broad chest.

"Need a hand?" Renji asked her, kind enough to pull her up off the ground.

"How'd you get here before me?!"

Renji jerked a thumb over his shoulder showing her the alley he cut through. "Ichigo showed me a short cut last time I hung out with him and his sisters. Didn't think I would have to use it that quickly, though." Tatsuki glared at him and stomped into the arcade, muttering softly under her breath.

Renji trailed in after her, but not before kissing her cheek and making her blush. "First round of games is on me."

Tatsuki grinned. "Be ready to lose, man!"

It was two and a half hours later and seven rounds of Mortal Kombat that Renji finally admitted his defeat. "You win! God, I can never beat you, can I?"

Tatsuki gave him a large grin and flipped some of her hair over her shoulder that was in her face. "Nope. And you never will, man. Come on, you owe me my ice cream."

The red head just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get moving before they close."

They went to the Cold Stone a few more blocks away, getting two simple chocolate ice cream cones once they discovered that Renji was now short on cash after the round of video games. Tatsuki had wanted to pay for her snack but Renji insisted she let him, since "it was the gentlemanly thing to do."

And so she let him, but only after she made him promise to let her pay him back for doing so. It was the least she could do for him after all.

"You got any more ideas for what to do?" he asked her once they reached the park.

"No. You wanna watch the sun set?" Tatsuki flushed red at the thought. _'Crap! What am I thinking?! He won't want that!'_

"Yeah. I'd like that..."

So they went to the nearest park together and enjoyed their ice cream and the sunset. It was really nice. Nothing to over done or squishy romantic that other people loved. And

Renji was kind enough to walk her home once it got dark out.

"So..." Tatsuki mumbled, looking away from Renji's face.

Renji smirked. "So what? You gonna say something or stand there all silent?" Tatsuki's head snapped up quickly and she smacked him in the chest.

"No! I was gonna say thanks for taking me out today, but I guess you don't want to hear that ya crazy red-headed pineapple!"

"Hey! I ain't no pineapple!"

"With that hair style you are!"

It was then that Renji leaned in close and gave her a quick kiss to the lips. "Thanks for going out with me. It was really nice."

Tatsuki face heated up red. "Ye-yeah... It was no problem. Maybe we can do it again sometime?"

He nodded at her offer before turning on his heel and waving over his shoulder. "Yeah! That'd be awesome. But next time, we'll make plans for a movie instead."

She nodded before going back inside and slowly shutting the door, leaning against it. This wasn't some sorta lame-ass puppy love kinda thing. She was really in love with the guy...

* * *

**A/N:** #Bleach-Pairings on dA had a contest regarding everyone's favorite pairing and as a prize, I offered a fanfiction of any length, so one of the winners, ~Katsuomangaka requested a RenTatsu fic based on this picture: http-:-/-fav .me-/-d3cug97. Please remove the dashes and space in order for the link to work. I'm not going to trouble you with the direct link, but instead, give you the shorter link for you to look. But I totally missed that whole scene and effed it up so bad...


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